Barry Allen Whumptober 2020

Friendly Fire

Pre lightning.

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Barry woke to the smell of smoke and the sound of fire alarms.

Barry cursed and hunted for his shoes, finding them in a matter of moments. He ran out of his apartment room, still in his pajamas and was greeted by a wave of thick smoke. He coughed and covered his face with a damp rag he grabbed.

Barry couldn't help but think that this was a very unfortunate time to be in the top levels of an apartment, seeing as the fire was below him. Barry cursed his rotten luck.

He didn't hear any sirens, meaning that the fire trucks hadn't arrived yet.

That was bad.

He coughed some more and plowed through the smoke. He heard sirens and let out a breath of relief that quickly turned to a cough.

He saw bright orange flames crawling up the stairs towards him. He turned and ran back up, but the fire moved fast. Barry ducked through the next door he came to. Barry ran towards a window, but froze.

There was a small cry.

Barry's eyes widened an he ran towards the sound, despite the fact that it led him into the flickering flames.

He searched hard until he found the source of the cry. A small girl, maybe five or six, with long blonde hair covered with soot. She was holding a stuffed tiger and was looking around frantically for a way out.

The girl cried for help again, spurring Barry into action.

"Hey!" He called hoarsely. "Hey, over here!"

The girl saw him and ran towards him.

Barry hugged the girl, "It's gonna be okay," he told her, "Just follow me." He handed her the rag he was using to cover his face, "What's your name?"

"Cathy," she said.

"Hi Cathy. I'm Barry. I'm gonna help you get out of here. Where are your parents?"

She pointed towards the outside of the building. Barry nodded and led her towards the window. He pried the window open and waved his arms, catching the attention of the firefighters and policemen.

He saw Joe and the Captain down at the bottom. The firefighters worked to get their truck ladder next to the window.

Barry heard the building creak and looked up warily. They were running out of time.

"Cathy, come up here," Barry instructed.

He helped Cathy onto the window as the firefighters finally got to the window.

"Here," Barry said, helping her get to the men.

The building creaked again as Barry put his foot on the windowsill.

Suddenly, the walls around the window collapsed.

Barry leapt backwards and fell through the floor into the roaring flames.

He let out a cry of pain as he felt the bones in his left leg snap.

The flames roasted Barry's skin and he scrambled into a corner.

He coughed some more and winced when it jostled his leg.

He saw a window nearby, but there was no way for him to get to it through the massive fire coating the floor.

Barry could feel himself start drifting off, and forced himself to stay awake. He no longer had the damp rag, and the smoke was burning his throat and making his eyes water.